The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
by Jinora
Summary: Adriane/Zach. After an argument that leaves both parties hurt and confused, Zach gets himself kidnapped. Now it's up to Adriane to save him and defeat the new big bad that has begun to rise. Name is subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

**The course of true love never did run smooth**

_A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 1, scene 1, 132–140_

Adriane sighed, the corners of her mouth twitching upward in a small smile. Zach had been keeping himself busy, planting tiny kisses across the soft skin of her neck. Adriane turned her head, dark eyes falling on the digital clock she had given him. A sharp gasp escaped her lips.

"It's already that late?" she questioned aloud, pushing his hands out from under her navy blue tank top. She jumped up, walking towards a chair that she had left her coat on. Zach rolled onto his side, the sheet-less mattress, which was mostly made up of soft leaves, felt cold on his bare ribs.

"Do you have to leave?" he asked, giving her the saddest look he could fake, the type of look you just couldn't say 'no' to.

Adriane had seen this look time and time again; she knew exactly how to deal with it. "I have school tomorrow" she said, though she had informed him earlier as well.

"Can't you just sleep here? Please?" he asked, that same look still plastered across his face. She shook her head in response. "Come on. We'll just... hang out."

"We already tried that. Remember how well it worked out last time?" she asked, thinking back to the one and only time she had ever spent the night on a school night.

"Just this once?" he pushed, propping himself up on his elbows. Adriane just smiled at him. He already knew her answer. It was a little strange though, he wasn't usually this persistent. Zach watched as she slowly laced up her black leather boots. She pulled on her jacket before making her way towards him. Adriane crawled onto of him, dark hair tickling his skin. She gave him a quick kiss that left him aching for another. Before he could so much as kiss her back she had rolled off of him, she was already headed towards the door. Adriane stopped in the door-way to give him a quick smile.

"See you tomorrow?" she asked.

Zach just nodded speechlessly.

"Bye!" she was out the door in an instant, running down the stair-like branches of Okawa.

Zach stood, walking out the door and onto the front platform. He watched as she awoke Dreamer, who was curled up next to Drake. He could only make out bits of their dialog from his perch in the tree.

Adriane bent low, giving the sleeping dragon a kiss in-between his eye-ridges. With a wave of her hand, Adriane opened the portal that lead to Ravenswood. Girl and wolf stepped through the portal. She was gone. Well, she wasn't _really _gone. No matter where she was, no matter what realm she was in, he would always feel her. The bond between the Wolfstone and the Dragonstone was unbreakable.

Zach sat on the platform, examining the cold, lifeless gem on his wrist. He sighed, shaking out his arm. Adriane had so much to do on earth. She had a whole other life, a life that he could barely be a part of. How far was this thing they had going on going to last? She was seventeen after all. It was only a matter of time before she found a nice Earth boy who could give her all the nice Earth things she needed, things that Zach could never give her. He had known this from the very beginning. Zach shook the re-occurring thought out of his mind. The thought of her leaving him was terrifying, to say the very least. It wasn't just a matter of wanting her anymore, he needed her.

Zach and Adriane shared a bonded animal. They worked together well as a team. It would be an understatement to say that they were fond of each other. Everything seemed to work so well with them. Still, he couldn't help thinking she'd be better off without him.

* * *

**WOAH Zach's thoughts are intense and serious. Who'd of thought? I know this is kind of short, I'm hoping future chapters will be longer. Tell me what you think! **


	2. Chapter 2

Zach yawned. "Uf" the boy rolled off the bed, hitting the hard wooden floor with a 'thud'. Zach sat up, wearily glancing at the clock. It was already 5:00 pm? He stood, pulling on a shirt and some jeans, clothes that the girls had sent him. It was so unlike him to sleep in, especially this late. He had been up all night thinking, which was never a good thing. Zach raked his fingers through messy blonde hair, smoothing it out as best he could. Zach didn't waste any time, slipping on his shoes and rushing down Okawa's stair-like boughs. He was supposed to be at Ravenswood an hour ago. Zach stalked across the field, looking around. The big red dragon, Drake, was nowhere to be seen. How do you misplace something so large and, well, red?

"Drake, where are you?" he asked aloud, frustration in his voice.

"Dragon Home..." the dragon replied telepathically. He obviously wasn't very happy with Zach's tone.

"O-oh... I knew that..." Zach stated, embarrassed that it had slipped his mind. "See you tomorrow" there was no response, but he wasn't exactly expecting one.

Zach waved his arm in the air, trying frantically to open the portal. On any other day opening a portal seemed to be an easy task for him. He had been using portals his whole life. He had much more experience using them than others had; Aldenmore was riddled with them after all. However today, in his rushed state of mind, anything could slow him down. The portal didn't open. Frustration wasn't an emotion commonly displayed by the teen. Zach stood perfectly still. Closing his eyes, he tried to still his racing thoughts and summon the portal. He had to admit, this was odd behaviour for him, he had been on edge for the past two days now. Soon enough the portal presented itself to him. He stepped through with ease, barley noticing the jump itself. Zach arrived at the preserve with no trouble at all.

Walking down a trail, he looked around, taking in the familiar landscape of Ravenswood. The preserve had been like a second home to him over that last four years. Zach rushed down the trail towards Adriane's cabin. Zach sighed as he reached the door. He really hated being late. Sure, Zach _was_ the time mage, but using time magic was hard, and exhausting, only to be used in emergencies. He had found that out the hard way. Zach knocked on the door. After a short moment the door creaked open slowly to reveal an older woman with long greying hair. She had a sweet, familiar face, and a welcoming smile.

"Oh, Zachariah! How nice of you to stop by" Gran said in her usual soothing tone.

"Is Adriane in?" he asked.

"Yes, of course. She's in the kitchen," Gran explained "come in, come in" she insisted.

Zach stepped inside, slipping off his shoes, and padding into the dining room. He could tell that Adriane was no longer in the kitchen. Sure enough he found her, sitting at the table staring into a steaming mug.

"I'll make you some tea" Gran stated, not bothering to ask if he even wanted any. She left the two of them and headed into the kitchen.

Adriane looked up, "So, where have you been?" she asked coolly.

"I slept in" he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. "Sorry"

"You do know there's an alarm on that clock I gave you, right?" She asked. She told him that right? She could have sworn she told him.

Adriane knew Zach could take care of himself, but she couldn't help but worry a bit. She had considered going to see what was taking him so long, but Gran had caught her in a story. There was just no way she could get away for fifteen minutes. One story led to another, and soon they had been talking for a few hours.

"You never told me that!" Zach exclaimed, irritation filling his voice.

Adriane frowned "Is something the matter?" she asked, a look of worry spreading across her dark features. Zach _had_ been acting strangely for the past couple of days. It wasn't like him to get so worked up over something so small.

Zach opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Gran forcing a mug of warm peppermint tea into his hands.

"Sit down!" she pushed, pulling out her own chair and sitting.

Zach pulled up a seat next to Adriane. Maybe it was the aroma of the tea, or perhaps it was the stream of cool wolf magic rushing silently into his jewel, whatever it was, he felt much better.

Gran barley noticed the sparkle of Adriane's jewel. "So, Zachariah, what brings you here today?" Gran was no idiot. She knew exactly why the boy was there; still she felt it would be polite to ask.

"Just here to check out the preserve" he glanced at Adriane. "It looks great."

She smiled. The pair stayed to finish their tea, before excusing themselves. The rest of the day had been spent chasing down quiffles that had strayed too close to the road, and a group of jeeran. It was already late in the day though, and darkness was slowly starting to creep its way across the sky.

Adriane sat tiredly in the middle of the manor field. Zach joined her, though he wasn't tired in the slightest.

"So... What's Drake up to today?" she asked, suddenly very interested in the whereabouts of her baby boy. He usually came over with Zach, not that she was worried. A full grown dragon could take care of himself, and she knew Zach would tell her if there was a problem.

"H-he's back at D-dragon Home" the boy stuttered. He felt bad, having snapped at him like that.

Adriane laid back, watching the sky as it darkened. Zach did the same. It was a chilly fall evening, but Adriane didn't feel cold, not with Zach beside her. Dragon magic was hot, and Zach was filled with it. So much so that when he used magic his skin would become hot to the touch. Zach barely noticed the gradual change in his body temperature, though he had given Kara some nasty burns over the years.

"Hey look a star" Adriane pointed to the tiny white pin-prick in the indigo coloured sky. Zach nodded silently.

"Adriane..." he started.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.

"What are stars made of?" he asked curiously.

"In my world? Stars are just balls of exploding gas, mostly hydrogen and helium," she explained, quoting her chemistry textbook. "In your world... who knows" she trailed off, turning her line of vision back to the sky, though his eyes never left her.

Zach nodded as if he understood. He didn't, but he pretended. Zach sighed. He didn't understand anything about _her _world. There it was again. That constant train of thought that lingered in the background of his mind was suddenly pulled forward. Her world. My world. They were two different things... Right? Right.

Adriane felt a sudden tug on her magic. It felt like a connection had been severed, like there was some sort of mental block between her and Zach.

"H-hey. What's wrong?" she asked, sitting up. Adriane looked into his bright blue eyes. Nothing. Adriane blinked.

"Nothing" he shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

She frowned. Of course she was going to worry about it. He was her boyfriend after all. As if reading her mind Zach pulled her down into a hug.

"I'm fine, just forget about it" he said, squeezing her tight. She nodded in agreement, though she couldn't help feeling uneasy.

* * *

**Wooh. Second chapter. Poor Zach. Theres quite a bit of dialog in this. Oh weeeell theres nothing wrong with that. Thanks for reading, don't forget to tell me what you think! **

**p.s. I know the name is really cheesy, but I'm terrible of thinking up names, so until I think of a better one you'll just have to bear with it. **


	3. Chapter 3

That night felt like an eternity for Zach. Adriane had fallen asleep around eleven. Zach on the other hand had spent the night thinking, asking himself the same questions over and over again. This time, instead of eventually getting to sleep at six, he didn't sleep. He couldn't. There was just too much going on in his head. By the time Adriane awoke his head was feeling pretty hazy. She kissed his cheek, bringing him back from god-knows-where.

"Morning" she said in a quiet voice, sitting up.

"Morning" he mumbled, almost emotionlessly.

"Let's go back, we've been out here all night" she pointed out as she started to stand. Zach pulled her back down, giving her a gentle kiss. "W-what was that for?" she stuttered.

"Nothing" he answered her, pulling her to her feet as he stood.

Adriane gave him a confused look. They weren't exactly the touchiest of couples. Especially not out in the open like this. Zach held her hand tight, not wanting to let go yet.

Adriane's expression changed from confusion to concern, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking ahead, avoiding her prying eyes. His pace quickened, her practically pulled her along. They arrived at the cottage, moving quickly towards the small structure. Ravenswood Manor loomed over head, just a few yards away.

Adriane felt a tug on her hand as Zach stopped. "Aren't you coming inside?" she asked, turning to face the young dragon rider.

Zach looked around uncomfortably. "I think I'm just going to go home" _my home _he reminded himself.

"Oh... okay?" she replied in a suspicious tone, "Is there anything you wanna talk about?" she asked, trying to obtain eye contact, and failing miserably.

Zach's attention shifted to a line of trees to his right. He half expected to see Eddie hiding behind a bush or a rock, but he saw no one. It must have been much too early for the brimbees. In fact, it was much too early for him, as well. He was exhausted from the last couple of sleepless nights, and he had way too much on his mind.

"Not really, I just wanna see what Drake is up to" he explained calmly.

Adriane frowned "All right... I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I guess..." he responded "bye" leaning in, her gave her one last soft kiss before turning toward the direction he had come from.

Adriane watched him leave; only looking away when a large black wolf approached from her left.

_What's wrong? _Dreamer asked, brushing against her side.

"I don't know..." Adriane mumbled, stroking his soft fur.

* * *

"Something's wrong with Zach" Adriane stated, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed. Emily rushed around the room, carrying large bags of pet food and supplies from one side to the other. "I don't know-do you need some help?"

"No, it's fine" Emily assured her. Emily had asked her mom if she could use her car. She agreed, but only if Emily could run pet palace for one week all by herself. It was some sort of test, even though Emily more than proven herself responsible time and time again. None the less, Emily planned on finishing this task, and that meant no help from friends. "What were you saying?" Emily asked, dragging over a large bag of liversnaps.

"I don't know what to do..." Adriane repeated, eying a rather large bag of cat food, contemplating helping out her redheaded friend, despite the fact that she refused her offer.

Emily huffed, pushing a couple stray hairs out of her eyes. She finally turned to face the warrior. Emily put her hands on her hips "Have you tried asking him?"

"Of course! He won't talk to me!" Adriane exclaimed, dropping her arms to her sides. "I was hoping that maybe you could, I dunno, come with me tomorrow? See if you can pick anything up?"

"Hmm... I guess I could do that" Emily answered evenly, opening a cupboard and stacking a couple of boxes inside.

"Thanks" Adriane re-crossed her arms, stairing intently at the ground. Something was very wrong, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

The next day came quickly for the mages. The group met up in the glade at twelve o'clock.

"Alright, let's go already!" Kara exclaimed impatiently, walking ahead of the slow paced team.

"Remind me again why you called Kara?" Adriane whispered to the healer as they followed close behind the blazing star.

"I didn't want to be a third wheel" Emily explained with a shrug.

Adriane sighed. Of course Kara had been filled in on the situation, and was eager to find out what was going on. If there was drama to be had, she wanted to be a part of it. Not because she liked drama, which to some degree she did, but because this was Adriane and Emily. Magic was affected by emotions, and because of this, there was nothing they didn't share with each other. Besides, it was a rare occasion to see Adriane and Zach, the wonder couple, fighting. Anything to draw attention away from her own dysfunctional relationships.

With a flick of the wrist, wolf magic cracked in the dry fall air. A pin point of light hung in the air before expanding into a pristine, glistening portal. A beautiful multicoloured dream catcher hung over the portal as a way of protection, but they didn't really need it anymore.

"Well, here goes..." Adriane started to say.

"Come on, COME ON!" Kara said, grabbing the warrior by the hand and pulling her through the swirling abyss. Emily sighed, calmly walking through.

* * *

**Fall feels like more of a damp season to me... hmm. This chapter is rather uneventful, I know. I just wrote this up quick in class. I've been reading a lot of Wonder Woman comics. Pretty sure that's where "Wonder Couple" came from. I feel like Kara's in such a rush to sort stuff out because she loves playing match-maker, and if her match doesn't work out she'll MAKE it work. I also think it comes from some kind of feeling of affection she has for her friends, she just doesn't know how to express it. I don't think I did a very good job of putting that across. I've never been a particularly huge fan of Emily or Kara, but writing this made me really want to write a one shot for each of them :x Rate and Review (:**


	4. Chapter 4

Kara pulled Adriane through the portal, followed by Emily, and then Dreamer. Ozzy and Lyra had opted to stay and watch the preserve, which would have been just fine if it had been any other day. Unfortunately today was_ not_ any other day.

"I was just about to call you" Zach approached them, hastily getting ready to leave. "Something's happening in Aquatania."

"What? Is Marlin alright?" Emily asked, a look of worry crossing her gentle features.

"He's fine..." Zach assured her.

"What's going on?" she pushed.

"I dunno, something about sirens?" Zach shrugged. "That's all I know... I was just going to check it out..." In all honesty it didn't sound like such a big deal to him. Sure, sirens liked to wreak havoc, and wreck stuff, but they were fairly easy to scare off.

"We'll go with you then" Emily offered, Aquatania was her area of expertise after all.

"Okay, I guess" Zach agreed, climbing onto Drake's back. The dragon, who had previously been occupied with Adriane, straightened out, flapping his massive wings a couple of times.

Adriane took Zach's hand, jumping into Drake's saddle. She turned, lending her hand to Emily, and then Kara. Dreamer jumped up into the basket, secured tightly to the back of the saddle. Drake was in the air in seconds, soaring over the Mooregroves before flying through a portal, which brought them to the Mountains of Glass. The ocean lingered in the distance, a striking blue line that separated the light afternoon sky from the glittering, orange-washed beach. In no time they were soaring towards the shoreline.

"Down there" Emily pointed to a large group of merfolk, it looked as though the entirety of Aquatania had been evacuated. With the tiniest of gestures, Zack instructed Drake to land. The dragon stooped low, spiralling towards the beach. Drake skidded to a stop, spraying sand towards a giggling group of sea-children.

"_Sorry_" Drake apologized, a lick of fire escaping his mouth. Drake crouched, allowing his passengers an easy way down.

"Drake, you stay here, okay?" Adriane advised the dragon as she slid out of his saddle.

"_Alright, mama_" Drake settled down on the sand, eyeing the young merfolk as they cautiously came his way.

"And be nice" Zach added as he followed Adriane, who was already making her way towards a small, but intimidating group of dragon riders. Adriane pushed through the group, politely excusing herself until she found what she was looking for.

"Jaraan" Adriane called his name, spotting the older merboy.

"Adriane!" Jaraan walked swiftly towards her, extracting himself from his prior conversation and wrapping her in a tight hug. "Zach" Jaraan regarded the mage, an inaudible groan barely escaping his mouth. Of course, wherever Adriane went, the blonde always seemed to follow.

Zach tensed. Of course, Adriane would look for the one person Zach couldn't stand. The pair had never gotten along, not _really. _Something in the way he looked at Adriane, the way his eyes lingered. Even now, Zach was filled with the minute urge to tell him to get the hell off of his girlfriend. Still, he kept his thoughts to himself, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What's going on?" Adriane asked, pulling away from the taller boy, ignoring the tension that had suddenly filled their small circle.

"I don't know... First we were overrun by sirens. It was nothing we couldn't handle until the sea wolves showed up."

"There are sea wolves now?" Zach asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah, they just came out of nowhere" Jaraan raked his fingers through his long seagreen hair, chewing his bottom lip nervously. "It's like... they're looking for something"

"Where's Marlin?" a breathless Emily asked, joining the group. Emily and Kara had checked all through the crowd, the prince was nowhere to be found.

"He's still evacuating the city, don't worry, he's okay" Jaraan informed her, confident that Marlin would be just fine.

Dreamer pawed at the ground in an uncertain manner. Sniffing at the sand, he took a few steps ahead of the team.

"You feel it too, Dreamer?" Emily asked with a frown.

"Feel what?" Kara looked around.

"_Magic_" Dreamer stated, before trotting onto the open sand. The group followed, breaking out of the crowd of merfolk, and traveling further down the beach.

"It... it feels like it's coming from over there" Emily pointed towards the cliff-line that edged along the other side of the beach.

"Right" Adriane nodded, taking lead of the group, hurrying towards the tall walls of rock. Zach and Jaraan fell into step beside her.

"I don't like the looks of this" Emily followed close behind the warrior. "It might be dangerous" she warned.

"Nothing we can't handle, right Xena?" Kara beamed confidently.

Adriane grinned in return "Right." She trekked across the soft sand, Dreamer padding in front of her. The group made their way across the beach, reaching the cliffs in no time. There was a thin ledge that made a path along the side of the cliff. It started at the waters' edge, gradually getting higher until it reached a small cave about half way up the clifface.

"In there, maybe?" Emily mused, pointing towards the dark hole in the wall.

"There's only one way to find out" Adriane murmured, climbing onto the ledge. The path was quite narrow; only two people could walk side-by-side along it without fear of falling into the water. Adriane and Dreamer stayed in the lead, with Emily and Zach close on their heels. Kara and Jaaran took up the rear. The upward slope was gradual, almost unnoticeable.

"Why would anyone hide up here?" Emily asked, looking down into the ferocious blue waters.

"It seems pretty inconvenient..." Kara added, following Emily's gaze.

Adriane remained silent, pushing forward at a quicker pace.

Emily continued to stare into the swirling waters. Water was her element, but she had to admit, she wasn't the greatest of swimmers. They weren't far from the water's surface, but they had already walked a great deal. She could already tell that the water was very deep. Suddenly the ground beneath her felt soft; before she could react she was falling. The last thing she saw was Zach reaching for her, before being engulfed in the freezing cold waters of the Aquatanian Sea.

"Emily!"

Adriane turned at the sound of Kara's cry. Without a moments hesitation she jumped. It was less than a five foot drop before the water's icy surface. Adriane swam out to the healer, grabbing her with one arm and pulling her back to the clifface. Emily took Jaraan and Kara's hands as they helped her up. Zach stooped low, extending a hand to Adriane. She reached up, her hand just inches from his.

"Ah!" the quiet sound barely escaped Adriane's lips as she was dragged back under the waves. There was something wrapped tightly around her ankle. Salt water stung her eyes as she tried to get a good look around. Adriane choked out a sharp breath as sudden shock hit her; she was completely surrounded by sirens. Adriane closed her eyes tight, focusing hard on the jewel on her wrist.

"Adriane!" Jaraan got ready to jump into the water; he was obviously the strongest swimmer.

"Wait" Zach grabbed Jaraan's arm, pulling him back from the cliff's edge. The water began to bubble as light exploded from beneath its surface. Time stood still as the water slowly settled down to its natural ebb and flow. Zach could hear his heart beating in his ears. Where was she? Zach held his breath, the mere seconds that ticked by felt like an eternity. **Where the hell was she****?**

Zach gave a silent sigh of relief, kneeling as Adriane finally appeared.

Gasping for air, Adriane climbed out of the water and onto the ledge, rejecting his hand.

Emily and Dreamer were by her side in an instant. "Are you okay?" Emily asked, her rainbow jewel glowing with concern.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine" Adriane took a couple more deep breaths before standing.

"What is wrong with you! That was way too reckless!" Zach exclaimed angrily.

Adriane stared at him through wet bangs. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" she shot back.

"That was completely idiotic!" Zach yelled.

"Idiotic? I saved Emily!" She exclaimed, meeting his angry gaze.

"Water is Emily's element, I'm sure she could have handled it" he said, shooting the healer and blazing star a look. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"You've never had a problem with the way I've done things before" Adriane couldn't believe this. Zach had never spoken to her like this. They had never fought before.

"Well now I do" Zach replied, most of his anger spent.

Dreamer stood by his bonded's side, adding quiet howls of confusion to the chaos around them.

"Hey, guys, c-calm down" Jaraan said in a soothing tone, attempting to step in between the couple. The others just stood in shock.

"This has nothing to do with you!" Zach shot Jaraan a nasty look.

"Don't talk to him like that" Adriane demanded. "Listen Zach, I don't know what the hell has gotten into you lately, but quite frankly, I don't care." Adriane pushed her sopping bangs out of her eyes "Just... leave"

Zach couldn't believe this. _She was sending him away?_

"Fine" he turned, storming past Emily and Kara, who were still in a state of shock.

"Are you alright?" Zach heard Jaraan ask Adriane. He paused for a moment, clenching his fists. Of course that asshole would take this opportunity to try to get closer to Adriane. Zach sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and proceeded back down the trail. It wasn't long before he was back on the beach. "Come on, Drake, we're going back to the Fairy Glen" he mumbled, patting the dragon's neck.

"_Mama?"_ Drake asked, feeling the tension between his two bonded's, even from this far away.

"She's gunna take a mirror home" Zach explained, hoping into the saddle.

Drake stretched before taking off into the air. They flew in silence for a great deal of time. "_What's wrong?"_ Drake asked.

"I don't want to talk about it" Zach answered.

"_That probably means you should..." _Drake replied.

"When did you get all insightful?" Zach asked in a joking manner. "Can we not talk about this while we're flying over the Mountains of Glass? They're hard enough to fly through to begin with" Zach knew this was a lie; they could navigate these mountains blindfolded. Still, He didn't want to talk about it.

* * *

******I really really love the Zach/Adriane/Jaraan love triangle, but you all know Adriane will always pick Zack in the end :3 **Taking that week long break from writing was probably the best decision I have ever made in my life, not that theres much competition, as I tend to make bad decisions on a regular basis. I seriously re-wrote this chapter three times, and I'm still not completely happy with it. I'll come back to it later, I'm sure. I've never really been that good at writing action-y, conflict-y scenes like this one. Still, I hope you enjoyed reading! Don't forget to tell me what you think :3


	5. Chapter 5

Adriane flopped down on her bed, sighing pensively as she recounted the events that had taken place. The cave was a bust, not that that was very surprising. Whatever, or whomever, had been in there must have escaped while she was in the water. It was a pretty deep cave though, maybe they were hiding? Adriane bit her lip. No, Dreamer would have sniffed them out.

As for the Siren's, they left soon after, and took the seawolves with them. The whole thing made no sense. Maybe it was just a fluke? Adriane shook her head. Siren's didn't come up that far north, everyone knew that.

Adriane rolled over, staring up at her star-covered ceiling. What about Zach? What was that all about? Adriane thought about calling him with the wolfstone, but decided against it at the last minute.

"Hmph, whatever," Adriane swung her legs off the side of her bed. Hoping to her feet, she made her way towards her dresser. Slipping out of her—now dry—clothes from earlier, she changed into some more comfortable sleep wear. It was only four in the afternoon, but Adriane wasn't planning on going anywhere.

"Hmm..." Adriane hummed in thought, thumbing through her DVD collection. She settled on an old romantic comedy, filled with teen angst and cynical dry wit. Adriane had never been a fan of comedies, or romances for that matter; she was always more of a horror kind of girl. Still, this movie was one of her favourites.

Adriane slid the almost-worn-out disk into her piece of crap DVD player. When it didn't play—which wasn't much of a surprise—she began violently jabbing the play button until it finally decided to cry uncle. Adriane padded back towards her bed. Sitting with her back to the wall, she wrapped her quilt around herself and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"_This movie, again?_" Dreamer asked, jumping up onto her bed as the movie began to play on her old television set. The wolf curled up beside her, nudging her arm with his nose.

"What? I like it"

* * *

Zach slid out of Drake's saddle. After having had a long, reluctant conversation with Drake, all he wanted to do was be alone for a bit. Of course Drake was upset with him. Sure, Zach was Drake's bonded, but Adriane was Drake's _mama. _Not even Zach could come between that bond. Zach hurried up the stairs and into his room in Okawa's boughs.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Zach scolded himself, tugging on fistfuls of hair. Zach kicked at the floor, scuffing his sneakers, making a sickening squeaking noise. Okawa's leaves shook violently in response, even the tree was angry. "Yes, yes I know, okay?" Zach replied, stroking his temples in thought. He was a jerk, she was pissed.

Maybe he could bring her some silkvines? People often gave each other flowers in movies and books. It was some sort of Earth tradition, right? He sighed. In all honesty, he didn't want to do it. She was scarier than an angry dragon when she was mad. Still, he had to do something. Zach took a deep breath, making up his mind. He left the tree house just as quickly as he had arrived, pacing across the field.

"I'll be back in a bit" he called to Drake, who he knew he was close. Sword at his side, Zach hurried into the woods that surrounded the fairy glen. After a couple of minutes of walking he finally came across the soft, multi-coloured blossoms that crawled across the ground, twining themselves up trees and around branches.

A crunching sound to his left caught Zach's attention. Zach turned towards the sound, gripping the hilt of his sword, slowly pulling it from its sheath.

"Who's there?" Zach mumbled, squinting into the shadows. "Hello?"

Zach pushed further into the woods, taking quiet steps into the shadow of an especially large tree.

* * *

Adriane stumbled across the sheer, starlit path. Was she worldwalking? She must have dosed off during the movie. Adriane glanced around the trail. Dreamer wasn't with her, in fact, the trail was deserted. There was no trace of the spirit pack anywhere. This looked like the spirit trail, but something was different.

"Hello?" Adriane tip-toed across the tightly woven strands of gossamer. She gave a quiet attempt at the wolf song. In the distance she could barely make out the song of a single wolf. Adriane stepped forward, straining her eyes to look through the light fog. A shroud of mist crept towards her, solidifying as a single silver wolf leapt out of the fog.

"Silver Eyes!" Adriane exclaimed, grabbing the old she-wolf in a tight hug.

"_Warrior" _ Silver Eyes nuzzled up to Adriane "_what brings you here?"_

Adriane stuck her face in Sliver Eyes' soft fur. It had been forever since she had seen the old pack mother.

"I-I don't know" Adriane murmured, face still buried into the wolf's neck. Adriane pulled away, taking a deep breath as she stood. "I guess I'm just stressed..." she mentioned as the pair began to walk.

"_What is troubling you?_"

"I'm... uh... not actually sure" Adriane frowned as her mind went blank.

"_I see_" Silver Eyes padded alongside Adriane, keeping her thoughtful gaze on the tall girl. "_How have you been?_"

Adriane couldn't believe this. Her subconscious couldn't have brought her here just to make small talk with the old wolf.

"Erm... I'm good" she answered, not giving much thought to the question.

"_And how is Little Wolf?_"

"He's fine I guess" Adriane shrugged her shoulders, dismissing the question flippantly.

Silver Eyes stared up at Adriane for a long moment.

"Actually... He has been acting weird lately." Adriane started "He won't tell me what's wrong..."

"_Zachariah is-_" the wolf stopped, ears perking.

Adriane gasped, sitting up as she took in the dark paint, and posters of her bedroom. Dreamer slept soundly beside her. Adriane heaved a couple of deep breaths before falling back, head hitting her pillow softly. She covered her eyes with her hands. What was that all about? She had long grown out of worldwalking in her sleep. Removing her hands from her eyes, she glanced out the window. It was still dark, but from what she could see, it was raining quite heavily. Adriane rolled on to her side, pulling the covers over her head. If she was lucky she'd be able to get another couple of hours sleep before school. Adriane closed her eyes, re-opening them a moment later as her alarm buzzed on her bedside table.

* * *

**I know, I know. This is long and boring. Definitely not my best work ): ****Oh well. I'm hoping the next update will be out sooner. Adriane is totally watching Ten Things I Hate About You, by the way. Ever seen it? It's great, I highly suggest it. I was actually watching it while I wrote this, haha. As always, rate and review :3**


	6. Chapter 6

Adriane stared out the window, chin rested in hand as she pretended to listen to her biology teacher's lecture on genetics... or something? It had been a good fifteen minutes since she had actually turned away from the window. Dark clouds were rolling in, heavy and swollen with rain. Adriane sighed, a storm was coming, in more than one regard.

"Ms. Charday!"

Adriane jumped, turning her attention back towards the board.

"Two blue alleles!" she blurted, hoping desperately that they were still talking about genetics.

"Very good," Mr. Clark turned his back on the class, drawing a punnett square on the squeaky chalk board.

Adriane sighed, glad that she had actually completed her homework for once.

Sinking back into her chair, Adriane's focus slowly drifted back out the window. Watching as the clouds slowly coiled over the school, she barely noticed when the bell rang, or the hand on her shoulder.

"Adriane..."

"Huh?" startled, Adriane looked up, taking in the figure before her.

"Class is over," Joey informed her with a bemused look on his face.

"O-oh... thanks," Adriane muttered, shoving her textbook into her messenger bag.

Joey's expression turned serious "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, giving him a weak smile.

"Are you sure? You look pretty worn out," Joey commented. "I-I mean, not that you don't look great, you always look great, but uh, what I'm trying to say is..."

Adriane shook her head. Worldwalking used up so much energy, she wasn't surprised that she looked tired. "I'm fine," she repeated.

"There's nothing you wanna talk about?" Joey pushed one last time.

Adriane froze. Kara. She must have told Joey that something happened with her and Zach.

"I'm just... kind of worried about the upcoming bio test," Adriane explained as they made their way towards her locker.

"Oh, I could help you if you want? We could study sometime or..." Joey offered. It was no secret that Joey had liked Adriane for what felt like forever. There was a time when those feelings were reciprocated, but that was before Zach.

"Uhm, sure... I mean, maybe"

Joey leaned against a locker as she fiddled with her lock, which always stuck without some magical assistance. After much difficulty, Adriane finally got the lock open, flinging the door open. Joey peered inside, spotting a couple of photo booth pictures of Adriane and Emily, as well as a small polaroid of her and Zach. She also had a copy of Kara's headshot, which wasn't a surprise as the girl had handed them out to practically everyone in the school.

* * *

Zach tossed a stone at the wall, which ricocheted off, making a quiet echo. He couldn't tell you where he was, or even the time or date. How long was he unconscious for? It couldn't have been that long. He stood, pacing around the room as he pressed his hand to the stone walls. As far as he could tell he was in a dark room that seemed to be carved out of the earth itself. Stalactites and stalagmites connected to form make-shift 'bars' with spaces big enough for him to see through. That wasn't much help though, as the only addition to the bleak, stone surroundings were magic lights that lined the walls. No amount of magic, or brute force, could break him out, at least from the inside it seemed. Zach sighed, sinking back down to the floor. Was it bad that he was becoming accustomed to being held prisoner?

* * *

Emily closed her locker, slinging her back pack over her shoulder as she headed down the hall. She turned a corner, swerving in and out of herds of people as she made her way towards Adriane's locker. Emily broke into a jog, spotting Adriane further down the hall than she'd expected.

"Adriane," Emily breathed, catching up to the raven haired mage. "Oh, hey Joey," she greeted curtly before turning back to Adriane "We were supposed to hang out today."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Adriane shook her head "I totally forgot."

"I guess I'll see you later then?" Joey asked.

"Yeah, I guess"

"Kay, See yah," Joey gave a small wave "Nice seeing you, Emily."

Emily just nodded.

"So... what do you wanna do?" Adriane asked awkwardly as they made their way out the front doors and into the parking lot. They ran towards the old pick up that Adriane shared with Gran, trying to stay as dry as possible in the sudden downpour. Adriane unlocked the driver's side, hopping into the vehicle, she leaned over to unlock the passenger's side. Emily opened the door, sliding into the seat; she tossed her bag in the back.

"Well... It's raining," Emily stated the obvious. "We could just hang out in the library until Kara's done cheerleading practice."

"Kara's joining us too?" Adriane grumbled, putting her keys into the ignition. She turned, looking out the rear window as she pulled out of the parking space.

"Yeah, of course. I told you this yesterday..." Emily informed her, pulling her seatbelt on.

"I told you, I forgot."

"Is something wrong?" Emily asked, hazel eyes filling with concern.

"No... Yeah, maybe." Adriane looked around; trying to decide which rout would be easiest on her truck in the heavy rain. "I don't even know."

"Hmm..." Emily hummed.

"Don't..." Adriane started "try to read my mind. I'll tell you when Kara arrives."

"Fine," Emily stared out the window. They drove in silence for a short time. "Any word from Zach?" Emily asked, turning away from the water that drizzled down the passenger's side window.

"Nope."

"Weird."

"Whatever," Adriane shrugged. She knew she was being miserable, but she couldn't help it. Emily just had a way of breaking through people's walls. If you weren't careful, you'd end up telling her something you'd regret. "Wanna watch a movie?" she asked, an attempt to change the subject.

"Sure," Emily grinned "Boondock Saints?"

"You hate Boondock Saints," Adriane commented suspiciously.

"I don't _hate _it," Emily shifted in her seat "er... Maybe I just never gave it a chance?"

"Fine, then don't complain when they kill the cat," Adriane warned as they drove into the preserve.

* * *

"So then I was like 'I'm the cheerleading captain. I'm always on top'"

Adriane choked on her bite of pizza. "You said that?"

"I meant on top of the pyramid!" Kara growled, tossing a pompom at Adriane's face.

"Well... did you at least get his name?" Emily questioned, turning away from the television.

"Of course!" Kara beamed "His name is Brian, we're going for coffee next week!"

"What ever happened to Lorren?" Emily questioned, ignoring the gunshots and bad Irish accents coming from the television.

Kara's face turned red, a perfect shade that matched her red and white cheerleading uniform.

"We're on a break," Kara exclaimed hastily. "So, how's Joey?" she asked in a quick attempt to draw the attention away from her.

"I knew it! I knew you said something!" Adriane accused, glaring at the blonde who sat on the other side of the couch.

"Hey, I just thought with Zach being a jerk, you could use some comforting," Kara said with a sugary smile.

"Well, next time, don't," Adriane tossed the pompom back towards Kara.

* * *

**Red and white uniform? Kara's totally cheering for Canada... No, not a team just... just the country. I tried to show the friendship between Emily and Adriane, and I'm really proud of the outcome. However, I do have a set personality that I think older Emily would have, and this didn't portray it... So... that's a bummer. And! My first attempt at anything funny! Yay! I have a horrible, dry sense of humour, so injecting some sort of humour into anything I write is REALLY difficult, and I understand if it actually isn't that funny (which... it kind of isn't). Ever seen Boondock Saints? It's one of my favourite movies at the moment. I figure it's the type of movie that Adriane would really like, but Emily not so much. This chapter is mostly just girl drama, but you know know how it is. I don't actually eat pizza, but I was thinking "What do teenagers eat?" Anyways, Rate and Review! :3**

**PS. I love genetics. Seriously, sometimes I just calculate people's genetic make ups... because I'm weird T.T**


	7. Chapter 7

Adriane pulled her hair back into a loose pony tail as she followed a large heard of gym students out to the field. The weather had cleared over night, and the teacher decided to use this opportunity to spring a surprise fitness test on the students. Taking the students out to the field, he had announced that they would be running the twelve minute run, eliciting a unanimous groan from the class. Adriane grinned; running was something she was more than confident in. Adriane looked around the group, searching for her usual partner.

"Partners?" Marcus asked, tapping her shoulder from behind.

"Oh, yeah. I was actually just looking for you" Adriane murmured. "Dibs second."

"Uhhhg," Marcus moaned "Come on, you're a way better runner than I am."

"So? That doesn't change anything," Adriane crossed her arms "I dibsed it."

"Fine," Marcus grumbled, finding a place on the field as Adriane made her way up the bleachers, picking a spot next to Adam. Twelve minutes of small talk later and it was her turn.

"How'd I do?" Marcus asked as he walked towards the bleachers.

"Six and a half laps!" Adriane informed him with a thumbs up.

"Shit..."

"That's actually really good!" Adriane assured him.

"I guess... You'll do better though" he told her before sitting down.

* * *

Zach focused on the small rock, levitating it about a foot off the ground. With a flick of his wrist the rock flew towards the wall, but bounced off harmlessly. Zach had long given up trying to escape, it was impossible from what he could tell. How they got him in here he'd never know.

_Click, click, click._

Zach looked up. What was that?

_Click, click, click._

Heels on stone? Zach stood, peering into the hallway, watching shadows as they approached. Zach leaned on a stalagmite, awaiting his host's arrival.

What appeared to be a petit woman in a dark cloak rounded the corner. A dark hood skewed her facial features, which made guessing her age impossible.

"You're awake," she said in a breathy, young sounding voice that was nothing short of adorable "finally."

Zach nodded curtly. "Where am I?" he asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked, an obvious attempt to sound tough, which might have worked if her voice hadn't been so high pitched.

"Who are you?" Zach tried again.

"I'm the Dark Sorceress" she projected in an _almost _threatening tone.

Zach chuckled.

"You..." he paused to laugh "You are definitely _not_ the Dark Sorceress."

The temperature of the room dropped as the girl clenched her fists. Her entire stature seemed to change, she gritted her teeth.

"Yes I am!" she barked in a tone that made Zach take a small step back.

"No, you're not," Zach insisted "The Dark Sorceress was killed years ago in Avalon. Beside, I've been kidnapped by her before, and let me tell you, her lair is a lot nicer." Zach took a good look around the cave for effect.

A low growl escaped the woman's throat as she took a step towards the make shift cell.

"W-what do you want with me?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"You, my love, are bait," she hissed, turning away before he could get a good glimpse of her face.

"Bait?" Zach repeated "For what?"

Her mouth twisted into a smile.

"The Warrior," she said simply.

"You want Adriane?" Zach asked.

"Well, preferably the other two as well, I want a matching set," She nodded, pacing the area outside his cell.

"What does that have to do with me?" he asked.

"You will call her for help, and then I will catch her," the woman said in a sweet, simple voice.

"And you just expect me to do that?" Zack asked. Even if he did, he wasn't certain Adriane would show up.

"Of course"

"And if I say no?" Zach asked, discreetly slipping his Dragonstone into the pocket of his jeans.

"Then I'll just have to make you," her voice changed again as she pounded on the rock 'bars' with open palms, making the earth itself shake violently.

"I'd like to see you try," Zach shoved his hand in his pocket. He could tell things were about to get heavy, and without Drake or his sword, he didn't have many options. Zach wrapped his fingers around the warm gem, silently forcing it to cut off any and all connection to the girls.

* * *

Adriane stretched, reaching her arms up above her head as she prepared for the run. Not that she was worried, she held the school record for most laps, though despite the coach constantly trying to convince her to join track, she always refused. Technically she was cheating on these fitness tests. It had never been a conscious decision to run faster or be stronger, but those were the perks of being a warrior. The coach blew a whistle and the group took off, some just walking, while others tried their best to match her speed. This wasn't a race, Adriane tried her best to let people lap her, but some days it was just a little too easy to get carried away.

Adriane closed her eyes, letting the world slip away. It would be another fifty meters before she would lap the field and run into another person. With the fear of crashing far from her mind, she slowly began to relax, feeling her consciousness slip towards the spirit world.

No. That can't be right. She couldn't be running the spirit trail, not now. Running had always cleared Adriane's mind, and helped her relax, but nothing like this had ever happened. Still, she could feel the magic of the spirit pack creeping closer and closer. Adriane was at war with herself, silently screaming, telling herself to open her eyes. If only she could open her eyes. For the first time ever she was losing control, she couldn't stop, she couldn't slow down.

Adriane's eyes flew open, breath catching in her throat as pain spiked up her right arm and into her chest. Her foot caught on loose gravel, pitching her forward onto the track. Barely catching herself, she felt the gravel tear at her palms and finger tips. Heart pounding in her ears, she choked on sharp gulps of breath that burnt her lungs from the inside. Shaking, she lifted her hands to inspect the damage; she barely acknowledged the worried voices around her.

"Adriane!" Marcus was running towards her.

"Are you okay?" Adam, who had been close behind her, crouched, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?" Marcus asked, kneeling beside her.

Adriane wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, pushing long bangs from her eyes.

"I... uh, I don't know," she breathed "I... tripped?" it was more of a question than anything.

"Come on, I'll take you to the nurse," Marcus offered, helping her to her feet.

Adriane nodded, stumbling along as he held an arm around her. She looked back down at her hands, which were covered in deep gashes. Surprisingly they didn't hurt.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better," Marcus started as they made their way down the hall "you beat your record."

Adriane gave a shaky laugh. "Oh yeah, how many laps did I do?"

"Eight and a half," Marcus told her "if you hadn't tripped you probably would have made it to nine."

"Wow," even she was impressed. That was a huge jump from her usual seven.

Marcus opened the door to the Nurse's office, indicating for Adriane to enter first, before following. Adriane sat in a chair by the door.

"So, are you sure you're okay?" Marcus asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I think so," Adriane replied, staring up at him with a slightly dazed expression.

"What happened anyways?"

"I don't know... I just spaced I guess," Adriane shrugged. "You know, you don't have to stay here with me. I bet Mr. Crawford is wondering where you are."

"I guess," Marcus sighed "Text me when you're done?"

Adriane nodded as Marcus exited the room. Adriane took a deep breath, staring up at the ceiling. She felt... strange, very detached, almost numb. Her hands hadn't even started to hurt, but mostly she felt weak, and off balance. Not physically weak, but magically. She needed to talk with Emily and Kara, as soon as possible.

* * *

**Zach's being sassy :3. ****Adriane's magic is all flooey. I wonder **why**? As we all know, Adriane and Marcus (and the rest of them) are acquaintances at most in the books. I figure that eventually acquaintances would turn to gym partners, and gym partners would turn to friends, and pretty soon the whole group would probably warm up to Adriane. Sure, she's described as being kind of 'weird' (there is no such thing as normal, lets stop kidding ourselves), she's kind of intense, and serious. TVtropes AND Wikipedia both refer to her as the 'goth' in the group, I really think that's pushing it though. Despite their differences I think they'd become really good friends. Rate and Review! :3**


	8. Chapter 8

And then Marcus walked me to the nurse's office," Adriane explained, examining the bandages that now adorned her palms and fingers. Adriane sat beside Emily at the kitchen table, while Tweek stood in front of her on the tabletop.

"How are you feeling now?" Tweek asked, running his HORARFF over the Wolfstone.

"I feel fine... normal, I guess?"

"Peculiar..." Tweek's quartz eyes whirled in his mossy head.

"What is it, Tweek?" Emily asked, leaning in to take a look at the Wolfstone.

"Well..." the EF paused as if for dramatic effect "I think you should take a trip to the Spirit world."

"Why?" Adriane asked, rubbing her Wolfstone as if it bothered her.

It was often hard to decipher the tiny figure's expressions, but now a definite frown crossed his twiggy features.

"I have a theory," Tweek paced "but I'll need you to go to the Spirit World to check something out."

"Okay," Adriane shrugged as she stood, pushing in her chair and walking towards her bedroom, Dreamer close on her heels. Adriane closed the door behind him, taking a seat on her bed cross-legged.

Dreamer sat in front of her.

"Are you ready?" Adriane asked, searching Dreamer's deep green eyes. Adriane didn't need to be alone, or even be in a quiet place to world walk. In fact, she could do it pretty much anywhere; it was just faster if she didn't have any distractions.

The wolf nodded. Adriane closed her eyes, focusing on the Wolfstone, and then on the Rocking Stone. A familiar feeling of weightlessness shifted over her; soon she was flying over the green forests of Ravenswood, leading Dreamer right into the Rocking Stone.

* * *

Emily sighed, leaning her head in her hand.

"Don't worry, Emily," Tweek twirled across the table, leaving a trail of moss and twigs behind him. "I'm sure we will get to the bottom of this."

"I hope so," Emily replied "Adriane has been acting weird for the past couple of days."

"Well maybe-"

"Adriane!" Gran called as she opened the door to the house.

Emily grabbed Tweek, squishing him under the table.

"Hello, Gran!" Emily called from the kitchen, pasting a grin on her face.

"Oh, hello Emily. Where is Adriane?" she asked, setting some groceries on the table.

"Um, she's just getting something from her room," Emily explained.

"Will you be staying for dinner?" Gran asked.

"No, actually, I was just about to leave..." Emily stood, leaning to discreetly shove Tweek into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder. "Do you think you could get Adriane to call me later?" she asked as she made her way towards the door.

"Of course, Dear." Gran nodded.

"Thanks! Nice seeing you," Emily exclaimed before heading out the door.

* * *

"_What now?_" Dreamer asked as they stepped onto the spirit trail.

"I guess we should find the Spirit Pack first," Adriane mused, whistling a short try at the wolf song.

Howls could be heard in the distance, accompanied by the thunder of paws on web.

"_It seems they have found us_" Dreamer cocked his head in the direction of the sounds.

Sure enough the trail in front of them began to fill up with thousands of ghost wolves.

A large, silvery wolf greeted Adriane with a bow of his head.

"_Wolfsister._"

"Packleader," Adriane bowed in return.

"_What brings you to us?_" He asked, standing proudly before her.

"I'm not entirely sure," she was hoping he could tell her.

"_Zachariah is not with you today,_" he commented.

"No, of course not," Adriane frowned, looking around. Why would he be?

"_No,_" the wolf shook his head "_Zachariah is not with you today_" he repeated.

Adriane gave another frown.

"Have you seen Silver Eyes?" she asked, scanning the crowded area for the silver shewolf.

"Adriane!"

Adriane opened her eyes. She was back in her bedroom. She stretched before standing, making her way across her bedroom. Followed by Dreamer, she opened the door, tip-toeing down the hall and into the kitchen where Gran was unpacking groceries.

"Could you help me put these away?" she asked.

"Sure," Adriane agreed with a nod, plucking a box of pasta from the brown paper shopping bags. "Where did Emily go?"

"She said she had to go do something," Gran explained, opening the fridge.

"Hmm..." Adriane made a face, opening a cupboard and placing the pasta, as well as a couple of cans of soup, inside. "I see... Are you making dinner, or should I?"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to sit down for a bit" Gran responded.

"Alright," Adriane began pulling things out of cupboards, pots and pans and a couple of jars of sauce. Soon Adriane was serving up two plates of spaghetti. Placing them on the table, she padded out to the living room. "Dinner's ready. I made spaghetti, is that alright?"

"That is fine," Gran took her time getting up, slowly migrating into the kitchen. She was getting old, but Adriane knew that Gran was far too independent to let her help her with anything.

The pair sat across from each other in their usual seats. Adriane's attention drifted out the window as they began to eat. The sun had fallen, plunging the woods into darkness.

"It's getting dark early," Adriane commented.

"Winter is coming early this year," Gran agreed with a nod.

"Yeah... I guess," Adriane shrugged, suddenly feeling restless. She gingerly picked at her food, realising that she had grossly overestimated how hungry she was.

"Is something the matter?" Gran questioned.

It felt like everyone had been asking her that. Joey, Marcus, Emily. Had she really been acting so strange?

"I don't know... I mean," Adriane sighed "not really."

A strange, but familiar feeling came over her, causing her to jump. The portal was open.

"Actually, Gran, I have to do something!" Adriane pushed her chair out as she stood, rushing towards the front door. "I'm so sorry! I have to go" Adriane slipped on her jacket, pulled on her shoes and ran out the door.

"And they still think I don't know," Gran smirked, shaking her head.

* * *

Adriane ran down a trail, Dreamer and Storm materializing at her side. She turned sharply, taking a short cut through a small stretch of trees. Adriane broke into the field, shielding her eyes from the abnormal bright light that hung in the center of the field. Wind gushed out of the portal, whipping tree leaves around the field. Letting her eyes adjust themselves, she spotted a familiar blonde boy near the portal, though he wasn't facing her.

"Zach!" Adriane called, running towards him.

"Adriane!" Zach turned, as if not expecting her to be there.

Adriane stopped. Something was wrong; she pushed her bangs out of her eyes, trying to get a clearer look.

"I was just about to call you," Zach walked hastily towards her. Adriane took a step back.

"Stop," she commanded. He obeyed.

"Hey... what's wrong?" he asked, taking a small step forward.

Adriane took another step back, examining the person in front of her.

"Zack?"

"Yeah?"

"No," Adriane shook her head "You're not Zach, are you?"

"What are you talking about?" he chuckled "Don't be ridiculous, of course It's me."

"No," Zach wouldn't come here, knowing she was mad at him. He also wouldn't call her 'ridiculous'. "Who are you?"

"Adriane, I'm telling you, it's me," he raised his arms, revealing his wrists.

"Where's your stone?" she questioned, raising her right arm, sending beams of light towards him.

'Zach' stared at her for a moment, a look of shock drawn across his face. The look disappeared, replaced with a bizarre, twisted grin, a face that not even Zach himself could make. Storm and Dreamer crouched, moving slowly on either side of him.

"You're a lot more observant than I thought you would be," he said in a voice that no human could make. He gave her one last final smirk before jumping back threw the portal.

Adriane followed, running into the fairy glen. She looked around the glade, which was empty. Whoever, or whatever it was, they were already gone. That was impossible, they couldn't just disappear.

"Zach?" she called, running across the glade and into the surrounding forests. "This is going to take forever," Adriane mumbled, stumbling through the unfamiliar terrain. Rushing into the woods, Adriane felt her foot catch on a root. Falling face-first, her landing was cushioned by a soft thicket of silkvines. Adriane huffed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes as she sat up. A glint of silver caught her eye a meter away. She scrambled towards the shining object. Adriane lifted the sword from its earthy resting place, exposing it to direct moonlight, tiny gems inlayed in elven metal shimmering in the light. Behind her Adriane could hear a rustling coming from the Fairy Glen. Adriane stood, weaving in and out of trees as she ran back to the glen.

"Zach? Drake?" she called, receiving silence in return. Breaking into the field, she ran up Okawa's branches to Zach's room. Of course, he wasn't there. Adriane walked out of the front platform. "Drake?" she yelled, searching the forests for movement. Her heart thumped in her ears, what if Drake was gone too?

"_Mama?_" Adriane exhaled sharply, relieved.

"Where are you?" she asked, glancing around the field.

"_Dragon home_"

"I need you to come home, now."

* * *

**Adriane, didn't anyone ever teach you not to run with sharp objects? I seriously think Gran knows, but just doesn't say anything. I'm sorry this chapter jumps around so much, I'm probably gunna re-edit it tomorrow. Tell me what you think! **


	9. Chapter 9

"_Emily, Kara, we have a problem! I need you guys, now,"_

Emily jumped at the frightened voice that rang through her mind. She looked to her mom.

"Uh, mom," Emily started, crossing the room to where her mother was washing dishes. "I just remembered that I was supposed to study at Adriane's tonight. Do you mind if I use the car?"

Carolyn gave Emily a stern look "Isn't it a school night?" she asked.

"Uh, yes, see," Emily searched her mind of an excuse "we have this big test tomorrow and we were going to compare notes, Kara's going over too."

Carolyn was silent for a moment, scrubbing dry, crusted food off of a plate. "I suppose, as long as it's alright with Nakoda?"

"Of course, we asked her earlier today," Emily answered, almost a little too quickly as she nodded her auburn covered head.

"Alright, well I guess that's fine, I'll see you tomorrow... then..." but Emily was already headed out the door.

"Bye, mom!" she yelled before slamming the door closed. She ran out to her mom's tiny green Volvo, opening the driver's side door. She didn't waste any time, the tone in Adriane's voice scared the crap out of her. Whatever Adriane needed, it was urgent. Emily turned the keys in the ignition, pulling out of the drive way and onto to street. She took the low road, a faster and more direct route to the preserve. Emily turned down another street, speeding past a field before rounding yet another corner towards the preserve. Pulling onto the gravel, she parked the car haphazardly next to Kara's powder blue Cooper Mini. Getting out of the car, Emily headed towards the cabin, only to be cut off by Ariel swooping down, plopping a dishevelled looking Tweek onto her shoulder.

"Adriane's in Aldenmor, if you hurry you might be able to catch the portal before it closes," Tweek told her hastily, clinging to her shirt in an attempt to hang on. Emily hiked across the Manor field, making her way towards the main trail, leading to the portal field. Ahead of her, Emily spotted her blonde-haired friend, a large, leopard spotted cat at her side. "Kara!" Emily called, jogging to catch up to the blazing star.

"Emily," Kara responded, stopping a moment, waiting for her to catch up. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Emily shrugged as the trio turned down another trail, plunging straight into the portal field. There it was, the portal, a pristine white orb hovering in the center of the field. Without hesitation, the group jumped threw the portal, taking in the familiar scenery of the fairy glen, but something was off. There was no giant red dragon there to greet them, nor was the dragon rider that accompanied him.

Adriane had been sitting in the middle of the glen, knees pulled up to her chest, fingers pressed to her temples, a stark look of dismay spread across her dark features. Storm and Dreamer paced around their bonded, whining gently.

"Adriane?" Emily asked softly, putting a hand on her friend's back, rainbow gem flashing brightly. "Are you hurt?" She shook her head. "What's wrong?"

"Zack's gone," the warrior replied, as if it were obvious.

"I'm sure he'll be back, I mean, you guys got into a fight but-" Kara started, kneeling next to Adriane.

"No,"Adriane shook her head covering her face for a moment. "Zach's gone. He's gone, and I didn't save him. This is all my fault."

"Wait, start from the beginning," Emily instructed, "what happened?"

"I was eating dinner with Gran," Adriane started, staring down at the ground. "when I felt the portal open. I went to see who it was, and Zach was there," Adriane bit her lip "I mean, it looked like Zack. But it wasn't, I could just feel it, you know? So I followed him back threw, and he disappeared. I searched the woods, but I only found his sword." Adriane lifted the gleaming sliver sword. "Drake says he hasn't seen him in a few days," not that that meant much seeing as he had also said he was in dragon home. "He's flying around Aldenmor right now, but so far he says he hasn't seen anything"

"I'm sure he'll find him," Emily rubbed Adriane's back.

"Yeah, I mean, Zach's his bonded," Kara added.

"He can't sense him... neither can I," Adriane shook her head, "The last time I spoke to him we were fighting, what if he's hurt or something?"

"What did the spirit pack say?" Tweek asked, jumping off of Emily's shoulder and onto the ground in front of Adriane.

Adriane pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "The Pack Leader said 'Zachariah is not with you'"

"Hmm, just what I thought," Tweek stated, scratching his head as he looked through his HORARFF.

"What is it, Tweek?" Kara asked, tilting her head, scooping up the E.F. onto her outstretched palms.

"Well," Tweek twirled around to face the blazing star, "You see, your stones are connected. No matter where you are, no matter how many worlds separate the three of you, you will always be able to feel each other, and in turn, be able to communicate. Am I correct?" The mages all nodded. "The bond between the Wolfstone and Dragonstone was especially strong, so much so that when world walking a bit of Zach's magic would carry over, grounding Adriane and stopping her from getting washed away in the astral planes."

Adriane made a face, opening her mouth to saying something, before getting cut off by Tweek.

"Someone or something severed that bond, which is why you cannot feel that connection anymore."

"That explains the pain in my arm," Adriane mutted.

"Yes, and your momentary lapse in strength. However, you have become much more powerful over the last few years. You no longer need Zach to travel to the spirit realm, so your body quickly recharged any magic lost when the connection was cut." Tweek explained.

"I see..." Adriane nodded, finally understanding exactly what was going on.

"But, without that connection, how are we going to find him?" Emily asked.

"The old fashioned way?" Tweek shrugged.

"We have to find him!" Adriane told them, standing.

"Adriane, I hate to tell you this," Emily started "But it's late."

"And dark!" Kara added.

Adriane snorted, that never stopped them before.

"Why don't we wait until tomorrow? We'll stay the night here and then search first thing in the morning." Emily told her friend, standing as well.

Adriane looked from Kara, and then to Emily. "I guess you guys are right," she told them with a sigh.

* * *

Adriane stared up at the leafy canopy that served as a ceiling. After ten minutes of arguing over who got the floor, and who got the bed, Adriane had emerged victorious. Of course she won; this was _her _boyfriend's bed after all. The blankets and pillows still smelt of him, and somehow she found herself wishing she were sleeping on the floor. Adriane rolled over, pulling the blankets up to her neck. Even now, with all her friends around her, she felt lonely. She was worried, who could blame her?

"_Zach? Zach? Please please answer me. Zack..." _she called, silently sending signals of wolf magic into the night.

Adriane heard a 'thud' from outside. A shaky landing from Drake sent mild tremors up the tree. Adriane sat up, looking out the window, and then around the room. Emily and Kara were asleep. Adriane crept out of bed, grabbing Zach's flying goggles, and sneaking by her sleeping friends; she headed back down towards the ground.

"Drake," Adriane whispered, tiptoeing towards the dragon.

"Mama?" the dragon asked rather loudly.

"Shhh," Adriane pressed a finger to her lips. "Drake... I need you to take me somewhere."

"Where are we going?" he asked, swishing his tail.

"We're going to find Zach," Adriane told him, matter-of-factly.

"I don't know, Mama," Drake snorted, flames escaping his nostrils.

"Don't worry, we're just going to look," Adriane assured him, patting his broad neck. She then turned to the pair of wolves, sleeping at the bottom of the stairs. There wasn't enough room in the tree house, so they opted to sleep outside.

"Dreamer, Storm," Adriane hissed, kneeling in front of them. "Wake up," she told them, shaking each of them gently.

"_Adriane,"_ Dreamer yawned wolfishly, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the faint light of Aldenmor's moons.

"_What's wrong?_" Storm asked, standing, stretching her back.

"I'm going to find Zach," Adriane told them, climbing up into Drake's saddle.

"_I thought we were going to look for him tomorrow?"_ she asked.

"Storm, I can't just sit here and wait for morning to come," Adriane told the large wolf; adjusting the goggles over her eyes "I need to find him. So, are you coming or not?"

Without another thought, Dreamer jumped up into the basket fixed to the back of the saddle.

Storm remained silent, pensively pawing at the ground.

"Come on, Storm," Adriane urged, "You're not going to let us go all by ourselves, are you?" Adriane was one of the three most powerful magic users on the web, a world walker paired with a mistwolf, and a full grown dragon. Her argument was completely invalid; of course the three of them could more than take care of themselves, and each other. Still, she knew Storm couldn't just leave them.

"Fine," Storm gave in, jumping up next to Dreamer. She knew that there was no stopping Adriane, especially in a situation as serious as this.

"Alright Drake, let's go-!" but the dragon beat her to it, with a beat of his heavy wings, he was in the air before she even finished saying 'let's'. Adriane held on tight, leaning into the wind like Zach had taught her all those years ago.

"_Where are we going?_" Drake's gravelly voice drifted into her mind.

"I-I'm not sure yet," Adriane shouted over the wind, lifting her right wrist, sending beams of wolf magic over the woods. "Tell me if you feel anything, Drake," she instructed.

Drake nodded, swooping down to get a closer look.

Adriane lent more magic to Drake, hoping the combined power would help attract Zach's dragonstone. Adriane stared down at the ground as they approached the Mountains of Glass. She had never seen this part of Aldenmor at night. She had to admit, while the mountains were beautiful, they were also kind of imposing. She shifted in the saddle uncomfortably. Somewhere down in those gagged rocks was the tiny ravine Zach had taken her and _Rocky_ when they had first met, hiding them from the gargoyles that hunted the Dragon's Egg. Of course, she could never, for the life of her, find it again, and she wondered briefly if Zach still knew where it was. Adriane shook her head, an attempt to rid herself from useless thoughts. She had to focus if she was going to find Zack. They continued flying for a long while, slowly making their way towards Aquatania. Adriane looked down across the ocean. The water was calm, more so than when she had last visited, that was for sure.

"_Mama!_" Drake turned his head towards her.

"What is it, Drake?" she asked, anxiously looking at the scenery below them.

"_Down there,_" the Dragon cocked his head in the direction of a far off cliff line, somehow Adriane wasn't surprised.

* * *

**Wooooh. EXPLANATIONS! This is exciting. Are you excited? I'm excited. **

**Anyways, I have this feeling that Storm wants to be the voice of reason, but at the same time wants to go along and fight the bad guys. As always, Drake is adorable, even if he is older now. He still calls Adriane Mama. I hope you liked it, feel free to tell me what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

Adriane peered down at the cave, frowning slightly as she tried to sense something-anything-from Zach. Of course this was useless, she couldn't feel a thing. She bit down on her lip. They had searched all through out that cave just the other day. There had been nothing out of the ordinary, though, she didn't exactly know what she was looking for.

"Are you sure?"

Drake looked back at her, nodding lightly before turning his attention back down towards the cave.

"Okay, take us down," Adriane instructed, guiding him towards the base of the path.

"_I thought we were just going to look?_" Stormbringer asked, a slight groan in her voice.

"W-we are," Adriane turned, folding one leg under her as she balanced in the saddle. She had gotten pretty good at flying over the years. "Come on, Storm. We're just gunna have a look around." Storm remained silent. "If it were me, Zach wouldn't have waited even this long," Adriane told her. "I _need_ to find him."

Storm didn't reply, but the look in her eyes told Adriane that she was on board.

"Okay Drake, let's try this again," Adriane whispered to the dragon, as he landed with as much grace as possible. Adriane reached into the basket, pulling out the elven sword as she slid out of the saddle. Adriane sighed "wait here, Drake," she told him, attaching the sword at her hip. He nodded, pawing at the still-warm sand beneath him. "I'll call if I need anything," She told him, as she started up the trail, Storm and Dreamer at her heels.

The trio climbed in silence for a while, reaching the mouth of the cave in mere minutes. The group exchanged a look, before advancing into the dimly lit cavern. Without another word, Adriane was quickly consumed by a thick mist. Adriane pressed her hand to the wall. The earth was crumbly, and filled with roots. The delicacy of the structure made Adriane anxious. The thought of all that coming down on top of them was enough to make anyone turn back. Adriane bit her lip, pressing on down into the narrowing space. Soon enough, soil turned to rock, which was a little more comforting. Adriane took a good look around the cave. It was deep, deeper than what had been originally anticipated. It looked exactly as she had left it last time, dark, orange-washed walls jutted upwards at odd angles. Rock formations—which would have been strange if they were on earth, but were quite common for this area—extended out of the floor and ceiling in unusual places. There was no other way to describe it than totally and completely _cave-like. _The only difference, this time, was the addition of twinkly, magic lights that lined the walls, casting dim, golden halos over the rocky terrain.

Adriane inhaled deeply, pushing deeper into cave as quietly as possible. She pressed herself to the wall, ears perking at a variety of scuttling noises ahead of her. The warrior stopped, squinting to get a good look. Sure enough, a sea of shadowy figures scurried around, each on it's own path. Some looked like they were stationed for what she could only imagine to be guard-duty. Others seemed to be doing other tasks. A few dark shapes hurried past her, sending a cold gust of wind towards her. Adriane shivered. She'd never be able to get through that mass of shadow creatures. She was safe under wolf-cover, but for how long?

Adriane tip-toed closer, the last thing she wanted was a fight. The trio was wildly out numbered. Adriane dared to move a bit closer, trying to find a clear path through the group. She took a deep breath, taking extra caution not to bump into one of the creatures. Adriane gasped as something cold, and smooth brushed her arm.

All at once she was on her back, pushing away the _thing _that had assaulted her. Lunging towards her, the warrior could just barley make out long claws and teeth, just inches from her face. Adriane huffed, pushing the weight from her body as a large black mass leaped over her, pinning the creature to the ground. Storm, following Dreamer's lead, materialized by Adriane's side, teeth bared.

"I guess this means we can't be friends," Adriane quipped, hopping to her feet, she felt for the elven sword on her hip. Adriane spun, slicing two more monsters as they lunged towards her. Dreamer advanced, ripping through the approaching group of mercenaries. Another shadowy-shape leap towards Adriane's jewel, but it was no match for Storm. The silvery wolf clamped her jaws down onto the smooth, scaly flesh of the creature, tearing the monster away from Adriane's magic.

Adriane ducked as three more shadows hurled themselves towards her. Tightening her grip on the sword, she sent out an explosive burst of wolffire, which shook the earth causing wave-like rippling in the rock. Adriane put a hand against the wall to steady the shaking.

"Note to self, don't do that again," she muttered, the fear of a cave in worming it's way back to the surface.

* * *

Zach looked up from his spot on the floor, grasping a stalagmite to steady himself. An earthquake? That could only mean-

"Ah. That must be your pretty little girlfriend," the hooded figure in the corner mused, in a voice that made his stomach turn. Zach gave her a scowl. What was she planning, exactly? The woman stood, giving Zach what appeared to be a smile, before rounding a corner down one of the many stone passageways.

* * *

Adriane sliced through another scaly body, advancing into the cave at an escalating pace. An arm reached out for Adriane's gem, but was soon yanked away as the creature it belonged to was apprehended by Dreamer. Stormbringer leaped at another approaching assailant. The trio sprinted down through the cavern, taking down anything that got too close. Soon, the cave opened into a large cavernous room, which branched off into dozens of other caves. The far wall was covered in strange rock formations, if fact, Adriane wasn't sure if it even was a wall. There seemed to be a space behind the columns of rock. Adriane approached the area slowly, squinting as she peered into the shadows.

"Adriane!" Zach's voice made her jump. Turning towards the sound, she hurried towards the far end, which was some-what out of sight. "What are you doing here?" Zach, leaned against one of the columns.

"Saving you, now back up," Adriane ordered, sending a well-aimed blast of wolffire from her open palm.

"It's no good, I've already tried-" Zach started to protest, but was cut short by the sound of rock exploding.

"Sorry, what did you say? I couldn't hear you," Adriane asked, putting her hand out for Zach to take. She pulled him through the hole.

"Nothing," He shook his head.

"Your sword," Adriane handed the weapon to him.

The pair turned at the sound of feet on rock, accompanied by fierce, animalistic growls, coming from the tunnel Adriane had come from. Adriane looked to Dreamer and Storm. Whatever it was, it sounded big. Zach took Adriane's hand, pulling her into a random tunnel.

"This way," Zach told her.

"Where are we going?" she asked, following close behind. Adriane glanced over her shoulder, the two wolves were close on her heels.

"Away from that," he replied simply.

* * *

**Wow. Sorry this took so long to get out. I've just been so unmotivated lately. I guess it's the summer? Making me lazy. Action Action. What did you guys think? Adriane's being kind of sassy, but I don't think she means to be. Adriane's such a BAMF, with the dragon riding and then sword fighting. What do we even need Zach for? Just kidding guys, you know I love Zach. Especially when he's the damsel in distress. **


End file.
